Summarize the following Do you remember long, lazy Sunday drives? Well, with the price of gas increasing all the time, getting a chance to roll down the wind and wave your hand in the air is becoming more and more expensive. Not to mention the fact that a car's emissions contribute to Global Warming. Scientists agree global warming is a huge problem that needs to be dealt with. Car manufacturers are starting to build cars that will not only drive you wild, but also drive down emissions! Electric vehicles are cars that use electricity rather than gas. And while electric vehicles have been around for over a hundred years – inventor Robert Anderson invented an electric carriage back in the 1830s – they were quickly replaced by the more powerful gasoline engines. Fast forward nearly 200 years and suddenly electric vehicles are making a comeback. Electric vehicles come in two types: hybrid models that use electricity and gas, and straight EV models that only use electricity.
Hybrid EV cars such as the Toyota Prius, Honda Insight, and Ford Fusion Hybrid use technologies like regenerative braking which powers the car's battery when braking. This results in better fuel economy than a traditional gasoline engine. New hybrid EVs, such as the Chevrolet Volt, make the car even more electric by using the battery first, and then gasoline only as a backup. Lastly, there are straight EV cars that use only electricity – think of riding a golf cart. They do not need any gas at all.
However, not everyone thinks that electric vehicles are that great. Some common complaints include the time it takes to charge the battery, the expense of adding a charging station at home, the lack of charging stations on the roads, and worries about what technical problems might arise from this new technology. For example, while the Volt gets even better mileage than regular hybrids, it needs to be charged daily. This, obviously, will have an impact on a person's electricity bill.
But other people disagree. They believe that EVs are the future. They argue that EVs offer better mileage, quieter rides, – in some American models manufacturers have had to create artificial noise to warn pedestrians that there is a car coming – and less environmental damage. And while EVs are currently more expensive than gasoline cars, the prices are dropping every year.
So what will your next car be?